dinner

Tonight’s dinner was at La Bodega in Zamalek, with two friends. It was a lucky incident where I had accepted the invitation, then cancelled via e-mail (having misplaced a key phone number), but the e-mail was never received by the other party and a “where are you?” phone call followed when I was about 8 minutes late. La Bodega is just a couple of blocks away, so I was there in no time, having changed my mind about the cancellation.

We were speaking of our Dean (positively, as she deserves) and a few minutes later she appeared like a ghost in the doorway. Even though it’s not statistically so unlikely, those moments always feel strange.

I chose the mushroom ravioli. It always tastes fine, but this dish is mostly a pleasure for the teeth, which we usually do not take into consideration as food critics. What I’m referring to is the firmness but also pliability of the ravioli. It is flattering to the teeth by making them feel necessary, but soft enough that one feels that not even minor damage is being done, unlike with hard candy or even certain nuts. And somehow the mushroom filling always seems to augment that effect in ravioli.

The dessert was a so-so crème brulée.